Anchor

ABSTRACT

This invention describes an anchor for use with small boats which comprises a fluke in the shape of a rectangular sheet or plate of metal formed into a cylindrical form. A short strip is welded to the plate in a radial direction. A shank is mounted on this strip by means of a bolt which permits rotation about an axis parallel to the axis of the cylinder. Detent means are provided so that when the shank is in a radial direction with respect to the fluke, it is locked in that position. However, by applying a lateral force to overcome the grip of the detent, the shank then can be hinged so it is essentially parallel to the fluke. All sharp edges and corners of the plate are rounded and the plate is hot dipped in a protective plastic, such as polyethylene. The coating is then baked.

United States Patent 1 1 Lambert Dec. 4, 1973 ANCHOR Primary ExaminerDuane A. Reger [76] Inventor: Lucian T. Lambert, 6004 E. 18 St.,

Tulsa, Okla 74l12 Att0rneyl-Iead & Johnson [22] Filed: Oct. 15, 1971 [52] U.S. Cl. 114/208 [51] Int. Cl B631) 21/36 [58] Field of Search 114/206, 207, 208; 306/11, 12, 13; 273/DIG. 4

[56] References Cited I UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,204,799 6/1940 Filby 114/208 R 3,402,689 9/1968 James..... 2,257,350 9/1941 Siebert...

955,314 4/1910 Borne 3,171,652 3/1965 Newman 273/DIG. 4

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 322,075 10 1934 Italy 114/206 [57] ABSTRACT This invention describes an anchor for use with small boats which comprises a fluke in the shape of a rectangular sheet or plate of metal formed into a cylindrical form. A short strip is welded to the plate in a radial direction. A shank is mounted on this strip by means of a bolt which permits rotation about an axis parallel to the axis of the cylinder. Detent means are provided so that when the shank is in a radial direction with respect to the fluke, it is locked in that position. However, by applying a lateral force to overcome the grip of the detent, the shank then can be hinged so it is essentially parallel to the fluke.

All sharp edges and comers of the plate are rounded and the plate is hot dipped in a protective plastic, such as polyethylene. The coating is then baked.

6 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures 1 a i ANCHOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention is in the field of anchors for boats. More particularly, it concerns an easily-handled, safe anchor for small boats which can easily be dislodged from a lake or seafloor in case it happens to be caught under a rock, tree, stump, root, or similar obstacles.

2. Description of the Prior Art Other prior artisans have taught anchors with means to facilitate release when-caught. One of these is U. S. Pat. No. 2,204,799, Filby, which discloses a mushroom, or disc, type anchor with an arm which is pivoted about a stub fastened to the inside of the. disc. The arm is normally held in a perpendicular position by a coil spring 0 actuateddetent. However, this example has an important weakness in that, since the disc can be engaged with an obstacle in any position about its axis, the piv- SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The difficulties with the. prior art anchors are overcome and the objects of this invention are achieved in v the design of the anchor of this invention. The anchor comprises a rectangular metal sheet or plate formed into a cylindrical arc'or taken as a sector of cylindrical pipe. A short strip is welded to the inside of the plate in a radial direction. An operating arm or shank is hinged on this strip by means of a bolt which permits rotation of the arm about an axis parallel to the axis of the cylinder. The shank is held in a radial direction by means of a detent. However,- by applying a lateral force, the grip of the detent is brokenand the shank can be rotated until it is essentially in the plane of the fluke. Thus, when the anchor gets caught under a rock or other obstacle, so that it ca'nnotbe-removed by lifting, then by this feature, it can be slid out from under the obstacle.

This feature of the anchor makes it useful with small boats where there is little or no mechanical force avail.- able to lift the anchor when it is entangled-in obstacles on the seafloor.

Additionally, the metal shell is smooth and rounded on all edges and comers and is provided with a hot dip of polyethylene and a baking process which produces a hard plastic layer on the metal. The primary purpose of this is to protect the surface of the hull and the deck of the boat on which the anchor is to be used and also to protect the anchor shell from rust or other damage. It is the primary object of this invention to provide a simple, safe, and inexpensive anchor which in its use on small boats will protect the boat surface from damage and will be easily handled and can be easily removed from a position of entanglement with subsurface obstacles.

These and other objects and'the principles of this invention will be evident from the following description taken in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 represents an elevation view of the anchor.

FIG. 2 is a sectional viewof the anchor taken along the line 22-of FIG. 1, and which shows the operation of the shank, both in the detented and undetented position, and also the layer of protective polyethylene over the fluke.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 4 to which an anchor rode, (chain, rope, or cable) can be attached. At the other end it is welded to two strips of metal 20, 22 which form a yoke. The strips are spaced apart approximately by the thickness of the strip 12.

- The anchor fluke itself is composed of a metal plate 36 substantially rectangular in shape, which is bent or rolled into a cylindrical form. Conversely the fluke can be cut from a cylindrical pipe of the proper diameter.

I There are two notches 34 along the ends of the fluke which, in a sense, provide two short prongs 40 on each 7 end of the cylindrical fluke.

The shank l6'is adapted to rotateabout the stub 12 by means of a bolt 24 .and nut 26 passing through holes in the two strips 20 and 22-of the yoke and the stub 12. When'the shank 16 is in a radial direction with respect to the cylindrical shell, it is held in that position with respect to the stub by a detent means. This can be provided verysimply by forging or otherwise forming shallow depressions 30 on each side of the stub 12. Abating projections are formed on the interior surfaces of the two legs 20 and 22 of the yokeby pressure on the outside at 32. These interior projectionsare adapted to fit into the shallow depressions in the stub so that they lock the shank to the stub in the radial direction. By applying a lateralforce to the shank it can be pulled out i of the detent by the outward springing of the strips or legs 20 and 22 of the yoke, there being sufficient play in the bolt and'nut 24 and 26 to permit this spreading of the strips. When the shank is pulled laterally, it comes out of the detent and hinges about the bolt 24. In this position the shank fits conveniently into the notches 34 cut into thefluke 40 of the anchor, such that the shank is almost at an angle 90 to its original position, and is almost in a tangential position with respect to the'cylindrical fluke.

In use, the shank 16 is positioned in the radial direction where it is held by the detent 28. The anchor is thrown overboard and will come to rest with the fluke 40 and the end 42 of theshank l6 resting on the bottom. As the shank 16 is pulled and dragged along the bottom, the fluke will tend to dig into the-sand and mud and resist movement.

However, if there should be an obstacle such as a rock, stump, root, or other object resting on the seafloor, and the fluke should happen to be caught under this object or obstacle, it will be extremely difficult to get the anchor out without having motor power to pull on the anchor chain or cable and lift the obstacle. In this instance, the shank then is pulled in a backward direction so as to break the detent. In that position it can be pulled more or less parallel to the fluke and the anchor then will essentially slip out of its confined position and be removed from the obstacle.

The cylindrical shell which forms the fluke of the anchor is provided with all edges rounded and smooth and all corners rounded so that there are no sharp edges. The fluke is then dipped into a hot solution of polyethylene and after it is permitted to drain, the coating is baked under conditions to harden the plastic and make permanent the bond of the polyethylene to the metal. Other appropriate plastic materials may be used in place of polyethylene although such material has been found admirably satisfactory for this purpose. The rounding of all edges and corners makes for a better bond for the polyethylene to the steel and further prevents the possibility of damage as the anchor is'lifted aboard ship where a conventional anchor with its sharp metal edges could seriously damage the thin metal of fiberglass hulls and decks of conventional small boats.

While the two arms 20 and 22 of the yoke are shown as part of the shank 16, the reverse could be the case and the two arms could be separately welded to'the shell of the anchor and a single strap used for the shank. However, in order to get sufficient strength in the arms of the yoke and sufficient elasticity to provide a strong detent mechanism, it has been found convenient to make these of considerable length and therefore it is more convenient to have the flexible arms on the shank 16 with a shorter stub single strip welded to the fluke. By choice of geometry, that is, the spacing of the hinge bolt toward or away from the fluke the direction of the shank 16 when it is used in the pulling direction can be made as closely as desired in a tangential direction to the fluke. It will be clear also that the ends of the arms 20, 22 can be held in detent by spring means attached to the plate 36, or in other ways.

While the invention has, been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is manifest that many chanbes may be made in the details of construction and the arrangement of components. It is understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiment set forth herein by way of exemplifying the invention, but the invention is to be limited only by the scope of the attached claim or claims including the full range of equivalency to which element or step thereof is entitled.

What is claimed:

1. An'anchor for small boats, comprising:

a. a double-ended fluke comprising a metal plate formed into a cylindrical sector including a notch intermediate of each end to form a pair of short edges along each end;

b. metal stub means rigidly fastened to the inside center of said fluke extending substantially perpendicular to the axis of said cylindrical sector and opposite said notch of each end so as to accept;

c. shank lever means rotatably fastened to said stub, the axis of rotation substantially parallel to the axis of said cylindrical sector and opposite said notch of .each end so as to accept said shank lever means when it is rotated toward one end or the other; and

d. detent means to normally restrain said shank in a direction radial to said cylindrical sector.

2. The anchor as in claim 1 in which all edges and corners of said fluke are rounded, and said fluke is coated with hard plastic.

3. The anchor as in claim 3 in which said plastic is polyethylene applied by hot dip and hard baking.

4. The anchor as in claim 1 in which said stub is a strip, and said shank carries a yoke with legs fitting either side of said strip, said shank rotatable about a bolt passing through said strip and the legs of said yoke.

5. The anchor as in claim 5 in which said detent comprises depressions on each side of said strip, and projections on each inner surface of the legs of said yoke adapted to fit into said depressions.

6. An anchor for small boats, comprising:

a. a double-ended fluke comprising a substantially rectangular metal plate formed into a cylindrical sector said plate notched on each end at substantially the center thereof to form a pair of short flukes on each end;

b. all edges and comers of said fluke rounded and covered with hard coating of polyethylene;

c. stub strip means welded to the inside of said plate substantially at the center thereof and perpendicular to said plate, the plane of said strip substantially perpendicular to the axis of said cylindrical sector and in line with said notches;

d. shank lever means rotatably fastened to said stub, the axis of rotation substantially parallel to the axis of said cylindrical sector, said shank including a yoke at one end with legs fitting either side of said strip, said shank rotatable about said stub about a bolt passing through said stub and said legs;

e. detent means to normally restrain said shank in a direction radial to said sector;

f. said detent means comprising depressions on each side of said stub strip, and matching projections integrally formed on the inside of each leg of said yoke, said projections adapted to fit into said depressions. 

1. An anchor for small boats, comprising: a. a double-ended fluke comprising a metal plate formed into a cylindrical sector including a notch intermediate of each end to form a pair of short edges along each end; b. metal stub means rigidly fastened to the inside center of said fluke extending substantially perpendicular to the axis of said cylindrical sector and opposite said notch of each end so as to accept; c. shank lever means rotatably fastened to said stub, the axis of rotation substantially parallel to the axis of said cylindrical sector and opposite said notch of each end so as to accept said shank lever means when it is rotated toward one end or the other; and d. detent means to normally restrain said shank in a direction radial to said cylindrical sector.
 2. The anchor as in claim 1 in which all edges and corners of said fluke are rounded, and said fluke is coated with hard plastic.
 3. The anchor as in claim 3 in which said plastic is polyethylene applied by hot dip and hard baking.
 4. The anchor as in claim 1 in which said stub is a strip, and said shank carries a yoke with legs fitting either side of said strip, said shank rotatable about a bolt passing through said strip and the legs of said yoke.
 5. The anchor as in claim 5 in which said detent comprises depressions on each side of said strip, and projections on each inner surface of the legs of said yoke adapted to fit into said depressions.
 6. An anchor for small boats, comprising: a. a double-ended fluke comprising a substantially rectangular metal plate formed into a cylindrical sector said plate notched on each end at substantially the center thereof to form a pair of short flukes on each end; b. all edges and corners of said fluke rounded and covered with hard coating of polyethylene; c. stub strip means welded to the inside of said plate substantially at the center thereof and perpendicular to said plate, the plane of said strip substantially perpendicular to the axis of said cylindrical sector and in line with said notches; d. shank lever means rotatably fastened to said stub, the axis of rotation substantially parallel to the axis of said cylindrical sector, said shank including a yoke at one end with legs fitting either side of said strip, said shank rotatable about said stub about a bolt passing through said stub and said legs; e. detent means to normally restrain said shank in a direction radial to said sector; f. said detent means comprising depressions on each side of said stub strip, and matching projections integrally formed on the inside of each leg of said yoke, said projections adapted to fit into said depressions. 